//------------------------------// // Six: Ch.21 // Story: Six // by TryingToActProfessional //------------------------------// [Flashback to 17 years prior] I skip happily down the halls, as a boy of five should be expected to. I was wearing a blue sun shirt and shorts. As I skip through the halls of the Family manor, I stop when I see a familiar, old face in the parlor door. “Grandpa!” I smile, waving at the old man. He smiles wearily back at me, his long beard covered in small patches of ash. “Hello, Six my boy! Glad to see you dressed so well today. What’s the occasion?” “Big sister is taking me on a picnic today!” I beam, holding up a wicker basket. “I even made cookies!” “Ah, wonderful! I wish I could have one. I loved your cookies.” He said sadly. “Don’t be sad, Grandpa...I’ll bring you some!” He chuckles and fixes his glasses. “Does your mother and father know you still talk to me? I do get quite lonely, but you know how they get. That daughter of mine particularly…” “Uh uh! Mommy and Daddy don’t know! Sister and I are good at playing ‘Secrets’ with each other!” He sighs and rubs his temples. “Grandpa, how come you’re always so dirty when I see you? And how come Mommy doesn’t say hi?” “Well….It’s hard to explain…” “Sixth Sense, what are you doing in there?!” I jump, hearing my mother yell. I look over to her. She had a stern scowl on her face; her leary green eyes burrowing into my soul. Her arms were crossed, ruffling her dark burgundy dress that rested elegantly on the floor at her toes. Her hair was a pale red, and went down to her shoulders. “N-nothing, Mommy! Just looking for my basket! I found it, see?” I hold it up. She walks up to me and snatches it from my grasp. “And why was it in the Parlor? You know you’re not allowed in this part of the house!” “I-I…” “Oh, leave the boy alone, Alice! He’s just a child! Let him be.” Grandpa yells. “I will not tolerate any of your confounded excuses to play your make believe!” “It’s not make believe….” “What did you just say to me?” She asks, stunned. “I-I said it’s not make believe...They’re real! They’re my friends! And Grandpa thinks you’re being mean!” She stands there, expressionless. “Grandpa….Six, it’s not fair to use Grandpa like that…” “He’s right here, Mommy! Why can’t you talk to him?!” I yell back, tears in my eyes. “HE’S DEAD, SIX!” She shrieks, knocking me over from the volume alone. “M-mommy?” “Your grandfather died two years ago in a fire, Six! He’s dead! And you should know better than to use him as an excuse to get away with your mischief!” “Alice, you watch your tongue! What would your mother think if she saw you treating him like this?! Or your sister!” “M-Mommy has a sister?” I ask grandpa, looking up at him. She stares down at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, but a crazed look in her eyes. “Six...How do you know about that…” She asks, shaking. “Grandpa just said to think about how your mommy and sister would think if they saw you treating me like this…” She grabs my arm and drags me down the hall. “If you refuse to believe he’s dead, then I’ll prove it!” “Ow, Mommy! You’re hurting me!” I shriek. “I don’t care! A little pain never hurt anyone!” “ROSIE!” I call out loudly. I’m answered with a slap to the face from my mommy. “Your sister is a good and pure girl! Don’t taint her with your devilish lies!” “I-I’m not lying!” She drags me out the backdoor towards a patch of land with several tall, rock-looking things...Headstones. “Mommy, stop it! You’re scaring me! ROSIE!!” *Slap* “Stop saying her name! She’s doing laundry and won’t be here!” She drags me over to one of the headstones and throws me in front of it. I shakily look up, my knees and palms scraped up from rocks. The headstone read: Here lies Crescent Star. Beloved Father, Husband, and Grandfather. June 14th, 1916 - May 3rd, 2016. “See?! He’s dead! He’s been buried here for two years! Right alongside my mother, and my sister.” She says, starting to cry. She stumbles a little and grabs a shovel, balancing against the handle. “N-no….But...he’s been talking to me every day since I can remember….He’s always in the parlor, all dusty! He has grey hair and a beard! He wears big glasses, and loves my cookies! He said that when he went away, he’d give me the house, an-” I’m cut short as she swings the shovel down at me. It slices through my shirt and chest from right shoulder to left hip. I screech in agony and collapse, crying loudly as I bled all over the floor. “You….you’re a demon….You were sent from Hell to torment me! I HATE YOU!” She smacks me upside the head hard, knocking me down into the dirt. I wail and scream, my head starting to bleed. I can’t even speak, my head screeching in so much pain that I can’t focus on anything else. “I SHOULDN’T HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO YOU!” She screams. I brace for another hit, but none comes. When I look up, shaking and crying, Rose was there with her hand raised. She was holding the shovel, making Mommy shake. “R-Rose!? What are you doing?!” “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!” Rose screams back. My consciousness starts to slip from blood loss, but I briefly think I see a gold flash before I pass out. The next time I open my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. Rose was sitting in a chair nearby, clutching a metal pipe in her hand tightly, her eyes glued to the room’s door. I sniffle a little as I try to sit up, my chest burning and my head pounding in pain. “Six, you should rest…” Rose says calmly. “R-R-Rosie….” I start to cry, shaking. She looks back at me, and I cry loudly. “Mommy hates me!!” I wail in despair., burying my head in my hands. I feel her warm embrace surround me as she hugs me carefully. “Sixie….You don’t have to worry about her anymore. That...woman isn’t gonna hurt you, or anyone, ever again.” I wipe my eyes and sniffle. “R-Really?” She smiles as she lets go. “That’s right. We’re gonna go to a new home soon! You and I are gonna have a new family that’ll love us more than she ever did.” “B-but...what about Daddy… Won’t he be home soon?” She bows her head slightly. “No, Six...Daddy’s not coming home. He’s with another woman…” “I-I don’t understand…” “It’s okay. You’ll get it when you’re older. But, right now, you need to relax, okay?” She smiles. I can see little tears in her eyes. “O-Okay…” I lay back down. “C-Can you sleep here with me? P-Please?” I ask pleadingly. “Of course…” She climbs onto the bed and lays down next to me, hugging me close to her. “Things’ll be better now. You’ll see.” [Present Day] Twilight rubs the tears from her eyes, and I sigh heavily. “That’s awful….To think your m-to think that woman could do that to you…” She says, practically spitting it out. “It’s fine. I found out a while later that she was in the Manehattan Mental Institution. She had become completely unresponsive. And my Dad, well….He’s here in Ponyville last I heard. Made a name for himself in business with his whore. I even hear they have a daughter together…” “Wait….Your father..? He’s here?!” “Why do you think I was so adamant on not being here? Because he’s the richest asshole in this town.” “No…..You’re telling me….that your Dad is Filthy Rich!?”